Time of the visit: 22-24th of sept.,2025 and again on the 20th of oct. having a day trip from Busan -where I stayed for 4 werks- to visit my last missing component in Gyeonju,the Namsan mountain.

The most impressive single element of all the World Heritage Sites (I'm still missing Namhansanseong at this point) in Korea is, in my opinion, the Tongdosa Temple, but Gyeongju has many different fascinating components that, as a whole, are unbeatable. Gyeongju is in my top third of all the World Heritage Sites I've visited.

The Gyeongju Historic Areas are a serial UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Gyeongju.. They include multiple zones featuring the remains of the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE–935 CE) — temples, palaces, pagodas, tombs and Buddhist sculptures — reflecting a rich fusion of religious, artistic and secular architecture.
Specifically, they:

*showcase outstanding examples of Korean Buddhist art (sculptures, reliefs, pagodas) from the 7th–10th centuriwwes.

*bear testimony to the culture, religion and social structure of the Silla dynasty for nearly a thousand years.

They are composed of five distinct belts or areas around Gyeongju, each with its own set of monuments and features.

1:Mount Namsan Belt((north of the city) – Ruins of 122 temples – 53 stone statues, 64 pagodas, in 16 stone lanterns – rock-cut reliefs/engraved stones, tomb groups, stone banner-poles – Fortress wall on Namsan, the site of the Poseokjeong Pavilion & Seochulji Pond

2:Wolseong Belt( Ruined palace site of Wolseong – Gyerim woodland – Anapji Pond – Observatory Cheomseongdae)

3:Tumuli Park Belt( Groups of royal tomb-mounds-domed, half-moon, gourd-shaped)

4:Hwangnyongsa Belt(Two major Buddhist temple sites: Bunhwangsa Temple( has a staff entrance,open even after closing time) and the ruins of the Hwangnyongsa Temple ...once the largest temple in Korea,a 9-storey pagoda built 645 CE)

5:Sanseong Fortress Belt( defensive installations)

Contributing to the overall composition are other factors that must inevitably be mentioned in connection with Gyeongju, such as the Woljeonggyo Bridge, the extraterrestrial illumination in the Wolseong Belt and around the Astronomical Observatory, the illuminated tumuli, the Donggung Palace, and the magically illuminated fields around the BuhwangsaTemple (the path leads from the Hwangnyongsa Temple site to the Buhwangsa Temple... (absolutely recommended at sunset,very enchanting).The dazzling colors of the nighttime lighting and the tumuli that characterize the cityscape make Gyeongju an extraordinary place.

Not to be forgotten is the National Museum in Gyeongju, which is definitely worth a visit.

There is also a little outside the city centre the Gyeongju World Culture Expo Park whichis a cultural park celebrating both the ancient Silla Kingdom and global culture. Founded in 1998, it hosts exhibitions, media art, performances, and sculptures that blend history with modern creativity. It’s part of the Bomun Tourist Complex and highlights Gyeongju’s role as a cultural hub and “museum without walls.”

I'm sure I've forgotten quite a few UNESCO sub-components I visited...... there's just too much to see in this Korean treasure trove.

A stay of two days should be the absolute minimum; 4-6 days is better, as there are other World Heritage sites around Gyeongju, such as the Oksan Seowon, the Bulguksa Temple, and the Yangdong Clan Village. Gyeongju is an excellent base for exploring these sites.

The overall composition makes Gyeonju a fantastic world cultural heritage site; the diversity of its sub-components, the extraterrestrial nighttime illuminations... and the crowning glory of it all is the Namsan Mountain, which is a sacred mountain filled with ancient Buddhist carvings, temples, and pagodas from the Silla Kingdom.a kind of open-air museum, it offers scenic hiking trails where history and nature blend beautifully, showcasing Gyeongju’s spiritual and cultural heritage.

The capital of the ancient Silla kingdom is definitely a must-see in Korea.There are tourists,but the city is not overcrowded with them like many places in Japan or even Seoul.